Masters of Health Magazine April 2020 | Page 54

stress cause excessive magnesium loss, which weakens the immune system. Fear also restricts blood flow and information processing by the prefrontal cortex of the brain, and resources are then shunted more towards the limbic system and primitive part of the brain, getting ready for ‘fight or flight’ and quick action. In other words, if you allow yourself to succumb to fear and panic, worry and stress, you will be less able to reason and work out better solutions to problems.

Stressful conditions such as harsh winters can make us more magnesium deficient and vulnerable to viral infections. Defending and strengthening the innate immune system relies on good nutrition and rest. Protocols include rest, alkaline foods, vitamin C and other antioxidants such as turmeric, garlic, blueberries or acai berries, olive leaf extract and colloidal silver, etc. If you have access to other traditional antioxidant herbal remedies, use those as well.diffuser-inhaler.

Inhalation via diffuser of dissolved magnesium chloride flakes plus essential oils such as frankinsense, oregano and menthol (or tea tree and eucalyptus) have an excellent reputation (to name but a few of the powerful anti-microbial oils available). You can get more leverage from antioxidants when they work as a team. For instance, use essential oils, magnesium, vitamin C, zinc and vitamin Bs together for a more potent effect.

Sodium bicarbonate was used by many who survived the 1918 Spanish Flu, as it helped them restore alkaline balance in cells, weakening the microbial invaders and helping to restore oxygen supply to cells. Herbal teas are also great to help detox and support the liver.

Absolutely essential is to try to get your gut health in order because that’s where your immune system is made. Regular bowel movements and cleanses are a must, which is what you can do with vitamin C and magnesium, as well as drinking lots of water and herbal teas. Natural fermented foods and probiotics help tremendously to build defences, whilst antibiotics destroy valuable gut microbes that are part of our immune defence. In an acute and extreme case the use of a targeted antibiotic may be warranted, however these days we very much over-use antibiotics, which has led to the ‘training’ of certain pathogenic bacteria to morph into other forms which then have no ‘antibiotic’ remedy.

Therefore, be mindful of supporting the gut microbiome – which happens to love Grandma’s home-made chicken and vegetable soup!Chicken-soup-immune-system

Avoiding chemicals like glyphosate and fluoride is a must, as well as heavy metal exposures such as mercury, lead and cadmium, which can all bind up and rob you of magnesium.

Magnesium is a major cellular defence. Above all, use a lot of magnesium transdermally to make sure you get high amounts making it through to your cells where it is used. Most of the magnesium in oral tablets and powders is lost via the digestive system, as they are not easily digested and absorbed by the gut wall – and especially not when we are sick! The digestive system winds down during illness and can only extract and absorb low concentrations of magnesium. In stressful conditions such as illness, we can need three times the average daily recommended amounts (ie. more than 1,000mg per day).Magnesium-immune-system

Therefore, (apart from intravenous), to get higher amounts of magnesium we have to rely on the skin. Dermal absorption of magnesium ions is self-regulating. In other words, the body decides what it takes up according to needs. The skin in this way acts as a nutritional reservoir. You can use as much as you like, as much as you need to feel better, without negative side effects.

Charge up your electrical system with magnesium so your immune system gets more power to do its job to defeat the enemy invaders. Defend and strengthen your body’s ‘fort’ using Nature’s best, because our health is our greatest wealth!

REFERENCES:

1. Mousavi, S., S. Bereswill, and M.M. Heimesaat, Immunomodulatory and Antimicrobial Effects of Vitamin C. European journal of microbiology & immunology, 2019. 9(3): p. 73-79.

2. De Franceschi, L., C. Brugnara, and Y. Beuzard, Dietary magnesium supplementation ameliorates anemia in a mouse model of beta-thalassemia. Blood, 1997. 90(3): p. 1283-90.

3. Fawcett, W.J., E.J. Haxby, and D.A. Male, Magnesium: physiology and pharmacology. BJA: British Journal of Anaesthesia, 1999. 83(2): p. 302-320.

4. Hansen, B.-A. and Ø. Bruserud, Hypomagnesemia in critically ill patients. Journal of Intensive Care, 2018. 6(1): p. 21.